Our first child, Billy Charles (It's Bill now} was born November 14,1949 in Orange Texas. We continued to live in Orange until 1950 then moved to Port Arthur Texas where I worked. We moved to Groves Texas just outside Port Arthur in March of 1952 where we bought our first house on a G.I. Loan not thinking we would ever be able to pay for it but there we lived for the next 37 years.

It was in Groves that our daughter, Barbara Ann (she's Bob to us) was born, February 1,1954. Both our children went through the Groves elementary and Jr. High schools and both graduated from PNG High School. After graduation Bill entered Texas Tech University in Lubbock Texas and earned a degree in Forestry and Wildlife Management. It was during this time that he discovered the opposite sex. He met the sweetest young lady any parent would want their son to meet, Mary Louise Krause. Things were serious enough that Bill decided Wildlife Management was not the thing for a family man so he entered The University of Houston where he received a degree in Pharmacy and after their marriage and graduation he became a pharmacist in Henderson Tex and finally in Nacogdoches Texas where they still live. Barbara after graduation from PNG entered Lamar University in Beaumont Texas and received her degree in Secretarial Science. She went to work for Gulf Oil Refining Co. But she too had the love bug bite her from a fine young man who was her High School Beau, Ronnie Ben Phillips. Their honeymoon date and the date she was to go to work for Gulf conflicted so she told them if they would give her the job she would only take a two day honeymoon, Saturday and Sunday. They agreed and she got both her man and her job! I think it turned out to be a good decision because she has been with the refinery from that day and has gone through two buy outs. First to Chevron USA then Clark Refining. Clark has now changed their name to Premcor Refining where she holds the top secretarial position in Human Resources and Is "Their Girl Friday". If anyone in the refinery needs something they say, Call Barbara Phillips!

Bill and Mary Louise presented us with our first grandchild, Aaron Matthew Jobe born January 17, 1978. They first lived in Henderson Texas about 200 miles from us and we almost wore a 75 Olds 98 out going to see him. He was educated in the Nacogdoches school system, graduated from Nacogdoches High school and attended a Trade school in Waco Texas learning Auto Mechanics. From the time that he was two years old he has been very mechanically inclined. He could put things together without the instructions that his daddy and granddaddy could not put together with the instructions! He now makes his home in Nacogdoches Texas but works in the Gas Field near Fairfield Tx. He works 7 days on and 7 off. This gives him lots of time for his greatest passion in life, Hunting and Fishing! Aaron to this point in life has not had much time for girls unless they want to go mud hopping in his four wheel drive truck!! With his good looks I don't know how he fights them off.

Barbara and Ronnie gave us our first Granddaughter Jobi Lyn Phillips, born May 16, 1978. Jobi got off to a precarious start in life being a premature baby her lungs were not developed fully and it really gave us all a scare. The Port Arthur hospital did not have the equipment needed to handle the situation and she was life flighted to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. Being the pessimist that I am I did not think she would be living when Ronnie and I got there by car and she looked as if she barely was but Bill met us there and reassured us that They had everything there to get her through the crisis and as he said it all went well and they brought her home in about three weeks. I remember when that called me at the shop and said they were home I rushed over and when I saw her all bright eyed and bushy tailed I cried like a baby I was so happy. Jobi grew up to be a beautiful young lady. Always involved in beauty pageants and school activities. The highlight of her Pageants was winning Miss Groves Pecan Queen after being runner up in Little Miss Groves and Groves Pecan Princess in prior years. She has the most Precious little 2 1/2 year old son Zach imaginable and she was married Dec 30 2000 to a fine young man Brandon Reeves.

Barbara and Ronnie's second child Ben Ryan was born September 11, 1979 and is our third grandchild. As did Jobi, he grew up in the PNG School district. He was active in Little League and Pony League baseball, Jr. High basketball, and was on the high school track team. Upon graduation from PNG high he entered Lamar University in Beaumont Texas majoring in Business and Finance. He has worked at the local Gulf Credit Union Part time to help pay his way through school. He moved to Austin where his desire was to enter the University Of Texas But even though he had a 3.5 GPA he was not able to get in at that time so he entered Austin Community College in hopes of getting in to U T next year. He shared an appartment with two other Groves boys and got a good part time job at an Austin Credit Union and really enjoyed Austin but one of his roommates got homesick and the other flunked out, Ben could not handle the $1200.00 per Month for the Appartment so he came back home and will continue his education at Lamar University. Of course Ben has a very beautiful girl friend there in Groves so I don't think it took too much to get him back there anyway! Ben is a handsome young man and some say he looks just like John F. Kennedy Jr. Barbara told him that was a great compliment to be compared to a Kennedy and I said , I'm not so sure, They all died young except Edward and nobody likes him !!

Mary Louise and Bill's second child was beautiful little Paige Elizabeth born March 30,1980. I called her our little Kewpie Doll because she looked just like a little doll lying there in her crib. She has not changed in what will soon be 21 years. She still looks like a doll only grown up! Paige went through the Nacogdoches Schools and graduated from Nacogdoches High school. After graduation she entered Blinn J.C. where she attended two years then she attained one of her highest goals in life, Admittance to Aggie Land at Texas A & M University. She is majoring in Elementary Education and works part time at the university airport to help with her college expenses. I think she has discovered the opposite sex just as her daddy did when he went away to school. She came home a few weeks ago with a very polite and Good Looking young man and introduced him as, "My Boy Friend".

The last and final grandchild is Katy Rose Our little Valentine Girl. Katy was born to Barbara and Ronnie February 14, 1986. Katy is not only beautiful but she is the smart one in the family and has been all her life. I remember her coming to visit us after we moved to Rayburn Country and we attended church in Pineland. When we went to church we took her to the pre-school class because she was only four years old. Of course Katy wanted to read and the teacher let her read but none of the other kids could read and the teacher asked her, Katy what grade are you in? When Katy told her she did not go to school and that she was only four the teacher was a little doubtful until she asked Rose after the class. When Rose confirmed her age the teacher said, Well she is the smartest little girl I ever saw, she reads like a 2nd grader. She has continued to do great in all her school work. She has been in accelerated classes anywhere they were available and brings home mostly A's. Of course she has been involved in everything from Little Miss Groves Beauty Peagent where she was a runner up winner , to girls softball, to ballet and piano. Just anything to keep Barbara on the go getting her from place to place. Of course she is a grown up girl now, attending PNG High School. I remember when she was a little girl I would have to take her to the duck pond to feed the ducks while Rose packed her clothes to take her home. If she was in the house she would unpack as fast as Rose packed saying, I don't want to go home!

On June 16, 1998 Jobi Lyn Phillips and David Nelson presented us with our first great-grandson Zachary Scott Phillips. There is not a lot I can say about Zach because words cannot describe him. He is beautiful, (Not Good Looking) he is beautiful! He is intelligent, and he likes the PNG Indian Pep Rallys. Now that's a combination that can't be beat! Just one example of how smart he is. He can talk as plain as most four year olds and the other day we were visiting them and he did something he had been told not to do. They have a little dog that stays in a play room and they keep a large bag of dog food there. It is to big for Zach to handle without spilling it all over the floor and Barbara had told him not to mess with it. Well this day he had been in there playing with the dog and he came into the den and said, I fed Zowie. Barbara said, did you make a mess in there? Zach answered, I made a mess but Paw-Paw Jobe will clean it up!!! Now that is smart because he knew I would if he asked me. If I had time I could brag on him some more but must do other things.

Mary Russell was presented to us by her Dad Louis Russell and Mother Cathy Rhodes in July of 2000. (Not really, but we claim her as our own). Mary came to S.F.A. State University on a scholastic scholarship beginning in the summer semester of 2000 and due to the fact the dorms were being refurbished she lived with us the first six weeks. When the dorms were ready for the fall semester I almost did not let her move out. We both have become attached to her and feel as though we have another granddaughter. We still see lots of her though. She spends the night sometimes once or twice a week but if she is to busy for that she always brings her laundry over on Saturday and washes then puts them in the dryer over night. Sunday Morning we all go to church then after church we take her and my sister Gina goes with us out to eat. I ask her where we are going to eat today and she picks some pretty good places. Even has me liking Chinese food! After we eat we come home and she takes her clothes from the dryer, folds them and usually while I sleep in my recliner she sprawls out in the floor to study for a while then usually she winds up on the couch and sleeps until church time. I think the thing she likes best is she has her own Garage Door Opener for our Garage and one side of the garage is her's. She has been gone for Mid Term break and we are ready for to Get back down here.

Bill, Ronnie, and Jobi,

before they had their teeth fixed.